RUSH: The Washington Post just ran a long article titled From Riches to Rags, and it’s about Venezuela. Venezuela used to be one of South America’s wealthiest nations, but is now one of the poorest.

The Post describes how this oil-rich country is Latin America’s “new underclass,” because it’s buckling under the weight of Venezuela’s descent into socialism.

There’s no food.

There’s no electricity.

There’s no money.

Every day, 5,000 people flee the country, trying to escape starvation. In the last two years, two million have fled; another two million will leave this year.

Women? Women risk being raped and attacked by smugglers. Members of the upper class and skilled professionals are abandoning their property and taking jobs as day-laborers in other countries. But life is worse for those who stay in Venezuela.

It’s all so totally predictable — and I did predict it when Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999. But our brilliant liberal elite, including Hollywood stars, praised Chavez and his chosen successor, socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro.

American liberals always celebrate socialism just as they’re doing today in the Democrat Party, because they see it as total power. Even though it fails every time it’s tried, they still think it hasn’t been tried by the right people with the right amount of money.